HR Advisor

Coffey; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Coffey is seeking a People & Culture professional in the UK to support delivery of a responsive, employee-focused service across the lifecycle. You will work with the UK P&C Business Partner and Ireland team to enable onboarding, ER support, data-driven decisions and scalable HR practices.

Ideal candidates hold CIPD Level 5 or an HR degree with about 3 years’ UK HR experience, including employee relations and HRIS data management.

Qualifications

• CIPD Level 5 or HR-related degree.
• Around 3 years' experience in UK People & Culture.
• Experience across the employee lifecycle and policy guidance.
• Strong Excel skills for data handling.
• Knowledge of HRIS and data reporting.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Hands-on experience with employee relations cases.
• Sound knowledge of UK employment law.
• Comfortable using HR systems to maintain data and reports.

Responsibilities

• Provide HR advice to managers and employees across the lifecycle.
• Support onboarding, recruitment coordination and employee experience.
• Maintain accurate HR records in HRIS (IFS, Eploy) and data confidentiality.
• Produce HR dashboards and reports to inform decisions.
• Support governance, policy implementation and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with UK P&C Business Partner and multi-site teams.

Skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Attention to detail

Multi-tasking

Education

CIPD Level 5

HR degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

HRIS systems

Job description

About The Role

Role Summary: This is an excellent opportunity for a degree-qualified People & Culture professional seeking to develop their career in a growing UK business. Working closely with the UK People & Culture Business Partner and the wider People & Culture team based in Ireland, you will support delivery of a responsive, consistent and people-focused service across the employee lifecycle.

Why this role? You will gain broad exposure to practical People & Culture delivery in a project-led, multi-site environment, enabling managers on day-to-day people matters while developing confidence in onboarding, employee relations, HRIS systems and leveraging data to support decisions. Support the UK People & Culture Business Partner in enabling proactive and scalable people focused practices across UK operations.

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations & HR Advisory

• Provide professional, pragmatic, and timely HR advice to managers and employees on a range of people matters across the employee lifecycle.
• Enable managers to manage disciplinary, grievance, probationary, performance, and absence management processes, including investigations, meetings, outcome documentation, and follow-up actions.
• Offer guidance in accordance with employment legislation, company policies, procedures, and People & Culture best practice.
• Act as a trusted first point of contact for People & Culture-related queries, ensuring consistent and employee-focused advice is provided.

Recruitment, Onboarding & Employee Experience

• Empower onboarding activities and coordinate with the Talent Acquisition Partner and hiring managers to ensure a positive and seamless experience for new starters.
• Enhance recruitment campaigns, careers fairs, apprenticeship and graduate programmes, and wider early careers initiatives to attract and retain talent.
• Drive engagement with return-to-work discussions, monitor sickness absence triggers, and coordinate occupational health referrals where appropriate.
• Contribute to employee engagement, wellbeing, and recognition initiatives aimed at enhancing workplace culture and the overall employee experience.

HR Systems, Data & Reporting

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date employee records within HR systems (e.g., IFS and Eploy), ensuring data integrity, confidentiality, and compliance with data protection requirements.
• Produce and analyse HR reports, dashboards, and management information relating to absence, employee relations activity, headcount, turnover, and other key people metrics.
• Monitor trends, identify potential risks, and elevate issues or concerns to the People & Culture Business Partner, supporting proactive decision-making.

Governance, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Promote the consistent application of HR policies, procedures, and organisational values across all business areas.
• Coordinate internal and external audits by ensuring employee documentation is accurate, complete, and compliant with legislative and organisational requirements.
• Maintain policy version control and assist with the review, development, and implementation of HR policies and procedures to reflect best practice and business needs.
• Identify opportunities to improve HR processes, systems, and ways of working, contributing to continuous improvement across the People & Culture function.

Learning, Development & Culture

• Maintain the UK skills matrix and support the coordination and administration of learning and development activities.
• Assist in the delivery of HR-related workshops, training sessions, and people initiatives that build management capability and employee awareness.
• Support employee forums, engagement activities, and culture initiatives that encourage collaboration, inclusion, and high performance.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with managers, employees, and key stakeholders across multiple locations.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

• Champion equality, diversity, inclusion, and respect in all HR activities, promoting a culture where everyone feels valued and able to contribute.
• Maintain the highest standards of professionalism, confidentiality, and integrity when handling sensitive employee and business information.

About You

Essential Criteria

• CIPD Level 5, Degree in Human Resource Management or in related field.
• Circa 3 years relevant experience.
• Working knowledge of UK People & Culture processes, employee life cycle activity.
• Knowledge of workforce data analysis and reporting, substantial Microsoft Excel working knowledge.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to build relationships, influence and coach people leaders.
• High level of attention to detail and organisational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment.
• Problem‑solving and pragmatic decision‑making.
• Hands‑on experience managing employee relations cases.
• Sound knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Understanding HR processes across the employee lifecycle.
• Comfortable using Microsoft Excel and HR systems to maintain data, produce reports and support evidence‑based activity.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience within construction, engineering, or similar industry.
• Exposure to multi‑site or project‑based environments.
• Experience using HR systems (e.g., IFS, Eploy, or similar).

Personal Attributes

Values driven, curious and proactive, with a strong willingness to learn, apply new knowledge and contribute positively to continuous improvement and team growth.

About Us

Coffey is a water infrastructure and civil engineering specialist operating in every major construction sector throughout Ireland and the UK. Passionate about quality and efficiency, this passion drives our belief in delivering projects with the best workforce. The hallmarks of our work are innovative solutions, engineering ingenuity, professional construction management and the highest level of safety and quality. We pride ourselves in nurturing an environment that empowers critical thinking, creative problem‑solving, customer focus, efficiency and flexibility.

Coffey values are at the heart of everything we do – Do the right thing, Do it better, Do it together.